There's certainly been a lot of buzz over these past few weeks leading up to the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton, better known as William and Kate. I've only watched a bit of the coverage but I will confess that I, too, find myself a little intrigued by the glamour and romance surrounding this hopeful fairytale.

I remember sitting in my family room, when my children were quite young, watching the royal wedding of the parents of Prince William, experiencing similar feelings. Now that was definitely over the top, to say the least! I still have the image of Princess Diana's out of control wedding dress and that ridiculous train fixed in my mind.

Kate's wedding dress was much more understated. In my opinion she looked exquisite! Her modesty in both dress and demeanor were truly regal. I'll even go so far as to say that even her modest figure struck me the same. As I observed her in each of these different ways, I could better understand why this impeccable display of refinement, romance and glamour are so appealing to women of all ages.

We all seem to still love the idea of the traditional romantic wedding, where a man and a woman fall deeply in love and commit to each other for life. There's a reason for that. The hope of a bright future together filled with love, honor, children, happiness and fidelity is still the fairytale life that most desire.

In today's world, people are becoming more and more cynical to the hope of such a union. For many of us, these royal weddings are the quintessential display of the perfect wedding and everything that it could mean!

In our heart of hearts, it is the desire of every human being to love and be loved, forever. Even the time honored circular wedding ring is the symbol of eternity -- although most marry "until death do us part". Interesting, isn't it?

In pondering some of these things, I couldn't help but think about my own "Royal Wedding" -- the day I was sealed in the holy temple of God, for all time and eternity, to my Prince Charming. To me, every temple marriage is a Royal Wedding! A temple marriage comes with it, all of the promises to true royalty. True riches of a Godly kind, including land, posterity and power! And to faithful members of the LDS Church, these promises are believed to be possible through the atonement of Jesus Christ.

Marriage is a sacred union. Marriage is ordained of God, between a man and a woman. Eternal Marriage is how God literally brings to pass "the immortality and eternal life" of His children.

Mormonism teaches that through priesthood authority in holy temples, a man and woman can be sealed (married) for not only this life, but the next. An understanding of this doctrine has been a tremendous blessing throughout my own marriage. No matter how hopeful a marriage starts out, inevitably challenges will come. And with those challenges, oftentimes a feeling of hopelessness can creep in, IF we do not maintain an eternal perspective and understanding of the potential for our marriage.

Heavenly Father's Plan is for His children is to build eternal families. Satan's plan is to destroy any attempt that we make to be forever families. Most marriages begin with a hopeful fairytale charm, which can quickly fade away as life begins to take its toll. However, as we take seriously our marriage covenant and our desire to have that Eternal Fairytale come true - the promise that we can have our "happily ever after" will become a reality!

I've included the scripture references along with screen shots depicted throughout this beautiful declaration. I hope you will take the time to watch and read with your families this very touching testimony of our Risen Lord -- and then decide who you could share this wonderful message with!

HE WAS BETRAYED

Mathew 26

14¶Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15And said unto them, What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

DENIED

Luke 22

54¶Then took they him, and led him, and brought him into the high priest’s house. And Peter followed afar off.

55And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among them.

56But a certain maid beheld him as he sat by the fire, and earnestly looked upon him, and said, This man was also with him.

57And he denied him, saying, Woman, I know him not.

58And after a little while another saw him, and said, Thou art also of them. And Peter said, Man, I am not.

59And about the space of one hour after another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this fellow also was with him: for he is a Galilæan.

60And Peter said, Man, I know not what thou sayest. And immediately, while he yet spake, the cock crew.

61And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.

62And Peter went out, and wept bitterly.

ACCUSED

Mark 15

3And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered nothing.

BOUND AND REJECTED

Mark 15

1And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.

Luke 9

22Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

John 19

1Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

MOCKED. REVILED. SPIT ON.

Matthew 27

29¶And when they had aplatted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a breed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

Matthew 27

39¶And they that passed by areviled him, wagging their heads,

Mark 15

19And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

CRUCIFIED

John 19

17And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:

18Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.

19¶And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.

Easter Video: The Atonement and Little Children
How little children understand and experience the Atonement is a question that LDS songwriter, Shawna Edwards, found herself pondering when she felt inspired to create a new Easter song for the children in her ward Primary titled:The Miracle.

Today on the Mormon Times show, they featured the new LDS service website, Helping in Vineyard. If for some reason you've missed all the buzz about this great new way to volunteer, online -- then you'll really enjoy this report!

As you know, after reading reviews prior to the Book of Mormon musical opening, this Well Behaved Mormon Womenmade a conscious choice to be offended! Since the opening of the play I've continued to read the reviews of those who have seen it -- both members and non-members. Of the few members that have seen it, they fail to compel me that there is any reason whatsoever to change my position.

Brother Otterson's article points to the inaccurate portrayal of two young LDS missionaries and their naivety in regard to leaving their podunk lives in Utah, as they head off to serve a mission in Uganda. He takes issue that the play potentially leaves its audience with a poor impression, that religion in general, are clueless to the suffering and plight of so many around the world.

Thank you, Brother Otterson, for taking the time to share correct information about the wonderful humanitarian efforts, specifically in Africa -- by the LDS Church.

This brief video highlights some of the major themes presented during the LDS general conference. I think they did a great job extracting from all the various speakers, some of the most inspiring teachings and nuggets of wisdom.

I look forward to reviewing each individual talk and taking the time to study the specific counsel given by these inspired speakers.

Members of the LDS Church are counseled to study these sermons over the coming six months, until the next conference, and strive to understand the teachings and apply them in our lives. I love this encouragement and find that it helps me to better focus on how my Father in Heaven would have me direct my life.

Themes woven throughout the LDS general conference range from a focus on the life, teachings, mission and atonement of Jesus Christ - faith - marriage - family - temple blessings - forgiveness - repentance - testimony - prayer - revelation - service - missionary work - womanhood - priesthood power - parenting, etc... How can we not be inspired when we are taught greater understanding regarding these things, which then help us to prioritize our lives in ways that bring the blessings of heaven into our lives!

Official audio, text, video of The 181 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is now available HERE!

Please consider sharing this wonderful video of our LDS conference highlights with family and friends.

I don't have any stats as to how many tweets went out over General Conference weekend using the hashtags #LDSConf, (update below*) but what I can tell you is that once again the efforts and interaction of Mormons on Twitter brought attention, worldwide, to the the reality that wetruly have living prophets upon the earth!

I believe it was during the Sunday afternoon session of conference that our dear Prophet and President of the LDS Church's name, Thomas Monson, was trending on Twitter! Such wonderful exposure to the eternal truth, that God speaks to His children, today! I hope you'll excuse me for not recalling exactly when this happened, but I was busily engaged throughout the entire weekend, while I tweeted as best I was able, with nine rambunctious grandchildren, and their parents! It was a glorious weekend!

For members of the LDS faith who have a personal testimony of living prophets, it is hard to imagine that so many who profess a belief in God, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, buy into the belief that He does not speak to prophets any longer. I know that my life, literally on a daily basis, is blessed by this knowledge.

It is a thrill to have the blessing of technology via Social Media, to shout from the rooftops that indeed God currently speaks to His children through living prophets. Not only that He does, but precisely what He actually has to say! Counsel on topics such as marriage, family, temples, service, compassion, forgiveness, parenting, etc... were made known. Invitations were tweeted throughout the weekend, both on Facebook and Twitter, to followers and friends to join us and watch or listen to General Conference. And I can tell you that in my case, some actually did!

Many of us were delighted by President Uchtdorf's shout out to US! Let me just say... I realize that I am not of the younger LDS generation, but I actually think that I am much better at using my "hands" to share the gospel, via technology, than many of my younger brothers and sisters. Therefore, I was thrilled with Pres. Uchtdorf's message about why, how, when and where we can use technology to share the gospel!

There are times when the Lord reveals to us things that are intended only for us. Nevertheless, in many, many cases He entrusts a testimony of the truth to those who will share it with others. This has been the case with every prophet since the days of Adam. Even more, the Lord expects the members of His Church to “open [their mouths] at all times, declaring [His] gospel with the sound of rejoicing” (D&C 28:16).

This is not always easy. Some would rather pull a handcart across a prairie than bring up the subject of faith and religion to their friends and coworkers. They worry about how they might be perceived or how it might harm their relationship. It doesn’t need to be that way because we have a glad message to share and we have a message of joy. . . .

With so many social media resources and a multitude of more or less useful gadgets at our disposal, sharing the good news of the gospel is easier and the effects more far-reaching than ever before. In fact, I am almost afraid that some listening have already sent text messages like, “He’s been speaking for 10 minutes, and still no aviation analogy!” My young friends, my dear young friends, perhaps the Lord’s encouragement to “open [our] mouths” might today include “use your hands” to blog and text message the gospel to all the world! But please remember, all at the right time and at the right place.

Brothers and sisters, with the blessings of modern technology, we can express gratitude and joy about God’s great plan for His children in a way that can be heard not only around our workplace but around the world. Sometimes a single phrase of testimony can set events in motion that affect someone’s life for eternity.

On that note, I want to personally challenge YOU! I've noticed over that last few years of tweeting General Conference on Twitter, and sharing information on Facebook, that we as members are getting better at doing this, but only briefly. Twitter is flooded with members during General Conference, thoroughly enjoying the camaraderie with other members and feeling good about their online missionary work. And that's great! But lets not let it end there, this time. Lets stay out there and make sure that our friends and followers know that this is who we are, as individuals, on a regular basis. I believe that it is through small exposure to truth, that the gospel message will eventually sink into the hearts of all those who are willing to hear our message.

Jesse later added - "Of note (I'm not sure how accurate this stat is now), we counted a total of 1,900 unique users last year. That was just tracking #ldsconf though. This year we tracked a lot more than just that."

So, as data continues to be collected and analyzed, by those in the know, I'm sure we'll have a better picture of how Social Media can and does help us to effectively share the gospel, online. Seriously, I'm blown away by these numbers! Way to go Twitter Stake!!!